Chris Johns (Georgetown) and Dennis Quinn (Georgetown), “Emerging Market Bonds Spreads and the Impact of Trump 2 April 2025 Tariffs: Liberation Day?”

We employ difference-in-differences (DiD) event studies to assess the impact of Trump’s "Liberation Day" tariff announcement on sovereign bond spreads and yields in emerging markets (EMs). We consider a largely unexplored question: how do trade policy shocks affect the cost of EM sovereign borrowing? Using daily data surrounding the tariff announcement, we find that countries […]

Calvin Thrall (Columbia), “Industrial Diversification and the Rise of the Local Chamber”

Abstract: Despite the well-documented nationalization of local politics over the late 20th century, one type of local organization has flourished: the chamber of commerce. Local chambers, influential interest groups in which firms operating in a given municipality band together to lobby for improved local business conditions, are now present in over 6,700 municipalities across nearly […]

Laura Comini (Michigan) and Hao Zhang (NYU), How Disasters Drive Action: Subsidiaries, Supply Chains, and Climate Lobbying

Tackling climate change generates non-rivalrous and non-excludable benefits, while the costs of climate action fall on individual firms. This should incentivize firms to free ride on each others’ efforts. Yet, corporate lobbying on climate issues has increased steadily across sectors. We develop a framework where exposure to climate disasters reduces free-riding by aligning private incentives […]